23rd Aug 2019 09:04
(Alliance News) - Henry Boot PLC on Friday reported a decline in first half profit due to a "very strong comparative period", but maintained its annual expectations.
The company also hiked its interim dividend 16% to 3.70 pence from 3.20p the year before.
The property investor and developer posted GBP24.1 million pretax profit for the six months ended June 30, down 8.0% from GBP26.2 million the year before, as revenue dropped 3.7% to GBP189.0 million from GBP196.2 million.
Chair Jamie Boot said: "As anticipated, our performance in the first half of the year is slightly down on the very strong comparative period; however, we remain confident that we will achieve our expectations for the full year."
The company expects revenue to fall in the rest of the year following the conclusion of The Event Complex Aberdeen scheme, though is predicting "commensurately higher margins" in replacement schemes so profit should be maintained.
The company has concluded two property sales so far in the second half and expects to complete another two by the end of the third quarter. These are forecast to generate proceeds of around GBP59 million, which would mean Henry Boot would have no debt toward the end of 2019.
Chief Executive John Sutcliffe said: "After the period end, we completed and handed over The Event Complex Aberdeen, concluded on two investment property sales, exchanged contracts on a further two and acquired a majority shareholding in Starfish Commercial Ltd, a small partnership homes contractor in the north of England.
"Trading in the second half has started well and we remain confident in meeting expectations for the full year, albeit some uncertainty remains regarding the UK's exit from the EU and how this may affect future trading conditions. However, the opportunities we have do not change and we will be carrying little or no debt, from the disposal of assets held for sale, should any competitively priced assets become available to us."
Shares in Henry Boot were up 1.5% at 237.50p on Friday morning.
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